Family fun day raises more than £3,500 for alopecia charity

Tom and Jamie Didlock organised a family fun day at Thornton Cleveleys Football Club to raise funds for Alopecia Awareness, a condition their daughter Erin (4) has.'Erin with her parents. PIC BY ROB LOCK'3-2-2019

The Didlock family is all smiles after the success of a charity event.

Mum Jamie, dad Tom and daughters Erin, four, and sister Grace, 11, were delighted with how well their family fun day at Thornton Cleveleys Football Club went, in aid of Alopecia UK.

When Erin was three, with a full head of blonde curly locks, her hair started to fall out. Her parents took her to the doctors and after a few appointments with specialists, she was diagnosed with alopecia areata.

By the time she turned four, her hair had completely fallen out and she had also lost her eyebrows and eyelashes.

Nail technician Jamie and husband Tom decided to organise a family fun day – not just to raise money for charity, but also to raise awareness of the condition – especially in children.

Hundreds of people attended the event which included stalls, games, raffles, inflatables and entertainment.

Jamie said: “It was such a great day, it was so busy. The weather wasn’t great which was a shame, but it didn’t really affect things.

“There was a stream of people throughout the afternoon and evening, the first few hours it was so busy you could hardly move!

“The feedback was great, people said they had a really good time.

“We were really pleased with the amount raised, there’s still more coming in from people who couldn’t make it on the day.

“We have raised about £2,300 online too.

“Everybody has been great and so supportive.”

Some of the money will go to Alopecia Awareness and the other half will go towards making funky crochet hats, or hats with big, long pony tails built-in for young children who have no hair, or suffer from alopecia, as the family have found this is something there was a shortage of for Erin.